FROM THE U-T ARCHIVES

10 YEARS OF NFL ARRESTS

Commissioner Roger Goodell announced a toughened personal conduct policy on April 10, 2007. Number of arrests/citations before and after:

April 2006-April 2007: 79

2007-08: 65

2008-09: 61

2009-2010: 44

THE BREAKDOWN

Of the 495 arrests/citations, 141 were drunken-driving charges. Most common charges:

DUIs: 28 percent

Fighting/disorderly conduct/resisting arrest: 22 percent

Domestic violence: 15 percent

Drug-related: 12 percent

Gun-related: 8 percent

BY TEAM

• Teams with the most arrests/citations:

Cincinnati and Minnesota: 30

• Team with the fewest arrests/citations since 2000:

St. Louis: 6

RESOLUTIONS

Of the 495 incidents, the U-T could find legal resolutions to 371. Many of the others are still pending. Of those resolved:

67 percent: Convictions, plea deals, diversion programs.

28 percent: Dropped without penalty.

5 percent: Acquitted.

A COMPARISON

The NFL still is better behaved than American society:

NFL: Roughly one arrest per 47 players per year since 2000, including injured reserve lists, according to the database.

U.S. population: One arrest per 22 people per year (around 4,637 arrests per 100,000 inhabitants), according to the FBI.

BRENT SCHROTENBOER

Three years ago, the NFL admitted it had a pretty big problem.

Its players were being arrested or charged with crimes, on average, almost twice per week.

There were at least 79 such incidents from April 2006 to April 2007, prompting Commissioner Roger Goodell to say certain players “were tainting the league.”

So he did something about it. He got tough on them with a more rigid personal conduct policy, announced in April 2007.

But is it working?

To gauge its effectiveness, the Union-Tribune updated its compilation of player arrests and major citations since 2000, something it has done each year since it first published the list in April 2007. Using public records and media reports, the Union-Tribune tracked 495 such incidents in the past 10 years. The database shows there were 44 incidents in the past year, down almost half from the year before the policy revision. “That’s good news,” league spokesman Greg Aiello said. “It’s self-evident.”

•Additionally, concerns have been raised that Goodell’s policy goes too far, particularly in cases when players can be disciplined despite not being convicted, arrested or charged with crimes. Recently, Goodell has considered discipline against Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has been accused of sexual assault by two different women but hasn’t been arrested or charged in either instance.

“That raises some very difficult issues,” said David Cornwell, Roethlisberger’s attorney.

Policy impact

On March 14, 2009, Cleveland Browns receiver Donte Stallworth was driving drunk in Miami when he struck and killed a pedestrian. He served 24 days in jail after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter. Goodell suspended him for the 2009 season. By contrast, after St. Louis defensive end Leonard Little drove drunk and killed a woman in 1998, he was suspended for half as many games (eight) by Goodell’s predecessor, Paul Tagliabue, in 1999.